Familiarity with fashion illustration from the language of an expert

Theater, play reading, music, stage secretary, music and fashion illustration! Parallel worlds that may have common points and Shokoufeh Attari, among all these experiences we have mentioned, has chosen illustration in the field of fashion and fashion as her profession and main interest to the extent that SHOW studio has hired her as an illustrator. Milan Fashion Week chose winter 2023. In this interview, we went to him to tell us about his experiences with global brands such as Schiaparelli and Moschino and his work at Show Studio.

Shokoufeh Attari and his activity as a fashion illustrator

Shokoofeh Attari was born and raised in Tabriz city and has a BA in Theater and a MA in Communication Sciences. Currently, he is a doctoral student in communication sciences and a member of the founding board and education director of Parlamed Institute in Tabriz.
He did not learn painting and illustration anywhere, and it has been one of his main interests and activities since he was a child, and the first source of income for Shoofah. He won the 1st place in the entrance exam of Tabriz Azad University in 1983 in the field of painting. But he decides to continue studying theater. Then he entered the field of cinema and theater, but he never distanced himself from illustration. Until after the establishment of Parlamed Institute, he pursues fashion illustration more seriously. He has a fluid and out-of-frame spirit, he goes to different activities and experiences them all. This sense and his spirit can be seen beautifully in the blossoming illustrations with the watercolor technique.

SHOW studio

The winter fashion weeks of 2023 have ended, and those interested in the fashion world were following the news and events of these weeks from different platforms. SHOW studio is one of these platforms. Founded in 2000 by Nick Knight in London, Shawstadio continues to push the boundaries of communication in the world of fashion. This institute is trying to create creative presentation methods for the audience. Shawstadio is also a unique platform to nurture and encourage designers and artists around the world to contribute to the creative process of fashion in their own personal way.
This state-of-the-art movie house shows live catwalk and fashion scenes, giving international audiences unparalleled and instant access to the world of fashion. It also covers events related to the fashion space with a dynamic team and also monitors fashion illustrators, photographers and anyone working in fashion media and selects them for various activities.

Fashion illustration in fashion weeks

Every year, Shawstadio observes a number of illustrators who have a personal signature in their work style and invites them to go to one of the four fashion capitals and see the shows up close, then portray one of the looks in their own personal way. Finally, Shawstadio displays these collections in the form of an exhibition to sell works. Mr. Nick Knight used to follow the art of Shoofeh Attari on Instagram. He even congratulated all Persian speakers on Yalda night with one of Shokoufeh’s works on his personal page, and in fact, with this Shokoufeh work, he became more interested in Iranian culture and customs.
For Milan Fashion Week Winter 2023, he invited Shokoufeh Attari to portray Milan Fashion Week in his own personal style. Shokoufeh, who was not able to attend Milan due to personal reasons, watched the fashion shows online and live and presented his own illustration collection, which was greatly appreciated and encouraged by the members of Shaw Studio.

How are the collections and looks chosen and spaced for fashion illustration?

“Everything happens in the moment, according to the mood and the space in which I am.” Shokoufeh Attari said this sentence in response to my question: How do you choose the collection and looks for fashion illustration and create atmosphere?
He went on to say: In addition to theater, I am also active in music, and I play the Azeri fiddle and have been in music groups for many years. I think that the knowledge I have about music, along with the knowledge I have about drama, literature, and theater, are like pieces of a puzzle that reveal me in the illustrations. My first illustration for Schwastadio at Milan Fashion Week 2023 was from the Fendi collection; Loki in the role of a drummer who rings the starting bell of this series for me the illustrator. Then, because I was in the mood for music, the entire collection I designed was displayed in the form of a music group. This was definitely not a predetermined event and I had not limited myself for this issue.

Income generation in the field of fashion illustration

Some of Shokoufeh Attari’s works have been sold through some foreign collectors in NFT markets on a contractual basis, so I asked him his opinion about generating income in the field of fashion illustration, and he replied: fashion illustration can be a source of income in different ways. For example, a fashion designer commissions a fashion illustrator to promote his final work, as I constantly collaborate with designers. In addition, a clothing designer goes to the fashion illustrators for a preview of the final work according to the personal order received from the customer. In addition, fashion illustrators can collaborate with fashion magazines and order work from these magazines or sell their previous designs to them. Also, online platforms for selling works of art, such as icanvas, can be another source of income for fashion illustrators.

Fashion illustration or clothing design? The problem is this!

Earlier, we talked about the difference between clothing design and fashion illustration in Sarak’s Closet, but from the point of view of a fashion illustrator, this difference is much more obvious. Shokoufeh says: “Fashion illustration is never and never synonymous with clothing design. A clothing designer does not need to be a fashion illustrator unless he is interested in this field. Just as fashion photography, fashion bloggers are related to clothing design through their field of work, fashion illustration is also related to clothing design. But in general, fashion illustration is a separate field as well as an independent source of income.

Cooperation and activity of fashion illustrator with brands

Shokoufeh tries to be more active at the global level and does not limit his illustrations to the borders of Iran. Even at the beginning of his speech, he mentioned that when he activated his Instagram page, his nationality was not clear on that page and most of his followers were not Iranian. This is what makes him take his first orders from Parsons University students. Among other activities of Shkoufeh, which has been published on the world’s top brands page, is participating in the Schiaparelli and Alexander McQueen brand appeals, whose works have been selected as some of the best works. Albert Ferretti, Moschino, and Iris Van Herpen are among the other brands that posted and shared his illustrations.

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Final word!

Shokoufeh advises new enthusiasts and activists in this field: “Don’t be afraid of any limitations.” Be determined in your work and don’t get tired. When you publish your works on social media, don’t pay attention to whether your works are liked or not and keep going because eventually the audience of your works will find you sooner or later and offer you a job.